Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his side cannot afford to slip up as he does not expect Premier League leaders Arsenal to drop any points.

Saturday’s 4-1 victory over recent rivals Liverpool extended his team’s winning streak in the Premier League to four consecutive games.

Leaders Arsenal responded later in the day with a victory over Leeds United to maintain its eight-point advantage over Manchester City, having played one more game and with a trip to the Etihad Stadium remaining.

And the manager says City cannot afford any slip-ups, with the season potentially following a similar pattern to when we went toe-to-toe with Jurgen Klopp’s squad before winning two titles on the final day of the season.

“We are in the moment that we lived before,” Guardiola said. “I have the feeling that if we lose a game we lose the competition.

“The biggest opponent I had in my career is Liverpool, we had to win 18 games in a row and 14 games in a row to win the league. That is a good way to play. If we lose to Southampton, we are out.

“I don’t expect Arsenal are going to drop a lot of points like I didn’t expect it in the past when we won the Premier League by just one point against Liverpool.”

City has won its last seven games in all competitions, but with a two-legged Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich and an FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United on top of the Premier League run-in, Guardiola says consistency will be key.

“We are playing good but to arrive in the position we have arrived in the Champions League, FA Cup and league, we have to have been consistent and that is what happened,” he added.

Photo by EPA/Adam Vaughan